Ornamental tree display



April H, 1950 H. w. SMITH 2,503,359

ORNAMENTAL TREE DISPLAY Filed March 5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A A A A A A A A April 1950 H. w. SMITH 2,503,359

ORNAMENTAL TREE DISPLAY Filed March 5, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ORNAMENTAL TREE DISPLAY Harold W. Smith, Richmond, Va.

Application March 5, 1946, Serial No. 652,079

3 Claims.

This invention relates to display devices.

The display device simulates a tree and is composed of a trunk or standard with a plurality of super-imposed, relatively large, substantiall flat simulated leaves positioned on and supported by the standard. The simulated tree is highly ornamental and the simulated leaves are adapted to support and have fastened thereto Christmas cards or other greeting cards and the like. Such cards are secured to the leaves in a number of Ways and as such, with the leaves, present a uniquely appearing tree and one which has a dellnite. appeal to the esthetic senses.

The ornamental tree or the like is preferably provided with a base and the trunk or standard is secured thereto and the simulated leaves are adapted to be placed on the standard and built up from the base to the top thereof in accordance with just how many leaves are secured to the standard and the number of greeting cards or the like that are to be in turn supported on and secured to the various leaves.

The ornamental tree, consisting of the standard and the leaves, is capable of being assembled from a knock-down condition and persons who are confined to their homes or hospitals receiving greeting cards may readily assemble the tree and secure the reeting cards to the various leaves on the standard. Then, too, children will find great pleasure in assembling the tree as Well as associating cut-outs from comic strips on the various leaves of the tree. A further use of the ornamental tree is for displaying greeting and other cards in store windows, or counters etc.

With the foregoing in mind it is an object of my invention to provide a highly ornamental and simpl constructed imitation tree or the like for display purposes and one which is capable of compact storage within a, container and being readily assembled for use.

Another object of m inventionv is to provide a display device simulating a tree or the like and consisting of a support in the form of an upright standard with a plurality of relatively large, substantiall fiat simulated leaves. positioned on the sup o Another object of my invention is to provide a display device for greeting cards and the like of very simple, inexpensive construction and wherein simulated leaves are supported on a standard and such leaves are adapted to have secured thereto greeting cards or the like and the tree as a whole presenting a very ornamental and pleasing effect.

' Another object of my invention is to provide a display device simulating a tree, consisting of a, telescopic standard and removable and replaceable simulated leaves, thus permitting the standard and the leaves to be compactly stored within a container.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the simulated tree acting as a display device;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of the leaves, showing one face thereof of green color;

Fig. 3 is a very similar view to Fig. 2, showing the leaf reversed with the opposite face of a different color, for instance, orange;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the leaf of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical sectional view disclosing a telescopic standard and a plurality of leaves super-imposed thereon;

Figs. 6, '7, 8, 9 and 10 disclose various modifications of means for securing greeting cards or the like to the leaves;

Fig. 11 is a modification showing the manner of attaching a small candle or other illuminating means to the leaf;

Figs. 12 and 13 are, respectively, a top plan and side elevation disclosing a further modification wherein the support for the leaves is in the form of a hollow truncated cone;

Fig. 14 is a still further modification showing a different manner of attaching the leaves to the standard; and

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the display device in knocked down condition and stored within a box lid or cover of the box not other fastener IT. The trunk or standard denoted generally at 18 consists of a pluralit of preferably hollow, round, tubular sections I9, 2D, 2! and 22, the diameters of which sections are such as to permit them to be telescoped within one another, as seen in Fig. 15, and as in Fig. 5, the lower portion of each section of the tube is fitted within another section and the standard is in extended usable condition. The standard as a whole, in other words, is of varying cross sectional diameters throughout its length and if the device is not to be knocked down and stored, then a one-piece, tapering hollow tube or a solid tapering standard may be utilized.

The substantially fiat similar leaves are denoted generally at 23 and such leaves may simulate maple, oak or the evergreens. The leaves are preferably made of relatively stiff cardboard or other sheet material and are provided within their exterior confines with means for securing greeting cards or the like to one or both faces thereof, and such leaves may have their faces of the same or dilferent colors, for instance green on one face and orange on the other face. The means for securing the greeting cards or the like to the various leaves consists in either cutting entirely through, or scoring the leaves as indicated at 24, thus providing a strip or band 25 which may be flexed away from the body of the leaf and the corner or other part of a card slipped under the same, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, wherein the greeting card, in pale lines, is denoted at 26. There are several such scorings or actual cutting-through of the material in the :body of each leaf and the same are in spaced parallel relationship, and other such cutting or scoring of the leaf adjacent its opposite sides and extending at an angle to the other scorings or cuttings are indicated at 21. Each leaf, depending upon what cross section of the tapered standard to which it is to be attached, is provided with a serrated opening 28 and the serrations provide a gripping effect on that part of the standard to which the various leaves are attached. It is understood that the openings 28 will be of varying diameters. Further, each of the leaves, adjacent its opposite sides, is slit or cut inwardly as indicated at 29 and this provides for interlocking arrangement of two leaves disposed on the standard in substantially the same plane (see Fig. 1).

In Fig. the manner of securing the superimposed simulated leaves or the like to the standard is shown, which consists of simply placing the opening 28 of each leaf about that portion of the standard at which it is to be secured and the weight of the leaves is such that they will gracefully turn downwardly and effect a canting of the opening about the standard and the serrated inner periphery of the opening will firmly grip the standard and maintain each leaf in its proper position and, of course, the interlocking of the two or more leaves by means of the slits or slots 29 will effectively serve to keep such leaves in substantially the same plane or arrangement on and about the standard IS. The lowermost section of the standard is slipped over the upstanding plu l6 and this, of course, supports the standard in an upright position, but there may be times when the standard, whether telescopic or not, may not be associated with a support as. for instance, it may vbe secured directly against a wall or the like and require no base or support.

. Other means of securing or fastening the greeting cards or the like to the various simulated leaves, such as shown in Figs. 6 through 10, consists of striking out suitably disposed tongues 30 which may extend over substantially the entire face of the leaf or a part thereof. When these tongues 30 are pressed upwardly or downwardly, as the case may be, as seen in Fig.

'7, the greeting card or the like 26 may have one edge, side or corner portion slipped under one or more tongues 30 and thus be firmly secured to the leaf.

In Fig. 8 a further modification of the securing means which is similar to that shown in Figs. 2 and 3 consists of cutting or scoring the band 3|, through which a corner or other part of the greeting card 26 is slipped and secured. Likewise, a further modification is shown in Fig. 9 where there is a staple 32 through which the corner of the card 26 may be slipped and secured and similarly Scotch tape, indicated at 33 in Fig, 10, may be utilized for securing a greeting card or the like to the leaf.

In Fig. 11 the leaf is indicated generally at 23 and scored or cut bands 34 in spaced relationship are adapted to receive the base 35 of a candle or other illuminating means 36 and thus secure the same to the leaf.

Figs. 12 and 13 depict a further modification of a means for supporting the cards in the form of a hollow, truncated cone 31, having an opening 37 therein and which opening is of slightly less diameter than the section of the standard which it engages and thus when positioned on the standard will firmly grip the same. The greeting card or the like 26 may be secured in any of the aforementioned manners to the cones which, of course, are super-imposed on the standard, and one such manner of securing is by providing oppositely disposed slits into which the corners of the cards are inserted. The cone supporting means 31 is preferably of paper or cardboard, or other sheet material, and is originally in a fiat condition, as shown in Fig. 12 and is of substantially semi-circular formation, and the opposite edges are provided with looking tongues 39 which are adapted to fit in slots 40, thus enabling the cone formation to be effected.

In Fig. 14 the modification of the invention disclosed consists of providing the leaf or the like 23 with a reduced extension 4| and a portion 42 turned at substantially right angles thereto, which is adapted to engage in a slot 43 in the standard I8 and, of course, several such slots are provided so that the leaves will be in super-imposed relationship on the standard as shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

As indicated in Figs. 1 and 5, a greeting card or the like 44 may have its side or bottom portion, as the case may be, slit at 45 thus providing a tongue 46 which is insertible into the hollow top end of the standard.

From the foregoing it is believed clear .that I have provided a highly ornamental and useful and entertaining as well as perhaps educational device for supporting and displaying greeting cards or the like. The various elements constituting the device are all capable of being knocked down and compactly stored within a container or box 41 (see Fig. 15). The various sections constituting the standard l8 are shown in telescoped condition as at 48 and occupy one side portion of the box, whereas the base I5 and the plug 16 and its securing screw 11 and the plurality of leaves 23 occupy other portions of the box. Thus the various elements of the device are readily accessible and are capable of being assembled by children as well as adults as the manner of assembly is very simple.

While I have specifically mentioned paper and cardboard, it is to be understood that any sheet material, including metal as well as plastic, might well be utilized in the formation of this ornamental display device.

Ordinarily frictional contact of the several connected sections of the standard with each other is sufiicient to maintain the standard extended but if desired a pin or the like, not shown, passing through both sections at their joints or the circular pieces, not shown, cut out to form the openings 28 in the leaves may be utilized for this purpose by inserting same between the joints of the several sections.

I claim:

1. A knockdown ornamental tree including a substantially flat upwardly facing supporting sur- :1

face, each of said members having an apertured portion to be slipped onto the tandard and to frictionally engage the standard to hold it thereon, and some of said leaf-simulating members being formed to interlock at their side marginal edge portions one with another.

3. A knockdown ornamental tree including a standard, a plurality of separate substantially flat elongated leaf-simulating supporting members adapted to be positioned at different points along the standard to project radially outwardly and at a downward inclination therefrom at different points around the standard and disposed to each present a substantially fiat upwardly facing supporting surface adapted to support thereon a Christmas card, means for interlocking some of said leaf members at side marginal portions thereof one with another, means on each of said supporting members for securing a Christmas card on the supporting surface thereof, each of said members having an apertured portion at one end thereof to be slipped onto the standard and to frictionally engage the standard to hold it thereon, said apertured portion providing for positioning and adjustably holding said card supporting member on the standard at dififerent positions thereabout and along the same.

HAROLD W. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 267,277 Strasser Nov. 7, 1882 485,975 Newman Nov. 8, 1892 904,758 Cropp Nov. 24, 1908 1,703,340 Grennan Feb. 26, 1929 1,725,073 Hacker Aug. 20, 1929 1,966,566 Spica July 17, 1934 2,063,393 McIver Dec. 8, 1936 2,188,081 Guthrie Jan. 23, 1940 2,197,220 Kost Apr. 16, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 55,055 Norway Apr. 1, 1935 

